1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to the field of ultraviolet lasers. More particularly it relates to tunable lasers and continuously tunable ultraviolet lasers for use in medical applications. Still more particularly, it relates to solid state, compact continuously tunable ultraviolet lasers having a coherent output beam variable over the wavelength range of about 298 nanometers ("nm") through about 355 nm.
2. Description of Related Art
Ultraviolet lasers have been found to have much utility in the medical field, particularly in conjunction with laser surgery and laser ablative techniques for removing and/or destroying unwanted material within a living human body. Until now, sufficiently powerful and compact solid state lasers available in the range of about 298 nm to about 355 nm (hereinafter referred to as the "UV" or "ultraviolet") have been few and they have been limited to certain relatively fixed bands of frequencies. Until now, ultraviolet lasers have resisted the techniques that have been used in the visible and infrared ranges of the spectrum to build solid state high power continuously tunable lasers. There is a substantial need, particularly in the medical field, for a compact solid state high power continuously tunable ultraviolet laser the output of which is tunable over a range of wavelengths including the range from about 298 nm through about 355 nm.